Going Live: Green Day, Best Coast

As many bands will tell you, the Air Canada Centre is no small stage. Luckily, GREEN DAY aren’t a small band as the East Bay punks embraced Toronto with a catalogue full of scrappy hits, ultimately turning the hockey arena into a magnetic rock show. Even BEST COAST held their own as the tour’s opener; Bethany Cosentino and Bob Bruno went from watching episodes of Seinfeld to ripping through a 10-track set without hesitation and the commanding edge only made songs like “Summer Mood”, “Our Deal” and “The Only Place” pop with charm and an edge.

It was also more than enough to set up their tourmates who pushed the massive rock tunes before free falling into material from Dookie, Nimrod, Kerplunk! and 39/Smooth. Not many groups can pull off such a transition – especially with “Burnout” leading the charge – but Billie Joe Armstrong and the rest of Green Day are veterans at making pop surf it’s way into punk. Even after all the redundant hate and the useless tabloid stories, they make it look effortless.